Yugi and the others left Bobasa's Eatery the next morning. Yugi was still humming the short song Bobasa had requested of the gang as payment for their tab.
"It's a song about Bobasa's name, you see?" Bobasa said cheerfully to them over another plate of fish. "Come now, sing with me! Bo is for Bordeaux wine," he sang.
"Bo is for Bordeaux wine," the others sang after him.
"Ba is for Bar and Grill!"
"Ba is for Bar and Grill!"
Bobasa grinned and bowed to them. "Thank you very much, everyone! Thank you for singing with me!"
Joey frowned at Bobasa as they walked out the door. "Wait, what about da 'Sa'? What's da 'Sa' for?"
Bobasa waved to them. "Sa is for sayonara! Come back soon!" He darted with surprising agility back into his diner, and the gang smiled after him. Hopefully he would have more company soon.
As they walked, a dark shadow loomed over them as the sun traveled behind the Dark Mountains. Whatever lay beyond those peaks, not even the most learned scholars knew about it. Legend said that the knowledge of the rest of the world had been entrusted to the royal family millennia ago. Yugi would have to ask King Atem if it was true when – if – he returned.
Yugi tried to quench the fear in his belly. Something deep inside him told him that this expedition was not going to end well. But he had to press on… He had to!
They had to walk for a much longer time than they had expected to even get in the vicinity of Bakura's castle. By the time the sun set, they had arrived at a lovely area near a pond, with drooping silver trees growing around it. Yugi looked into its waters as they made camp for the night. Just as Bobasa had said, there were dozens of fish swimming clockwise endlessly in the pool. They were glowing like the moonlight and white like marble. Yugi found himself staring endlessly at them. They were so beautiful.
"Yug', you comin' ta eat?" Joey asked, startling Yugi out of his stupor, "or are ya thinkin' about tryna catch one with your bare hands?"
"Sorry – sorry," Yugi said, shaking his head to clear his mind. Something about those fish had an almost hypnotizing effect on him. But to look at them one last time… No! Yugi told himself. He walked back over to the others and ate, but he was thinking about those fish the whole time.
Yugi could not sleep that night. After a few restless hours, he gave up and decided to look at those shining fish again. "Just one more time," Yugi muttered to himself as he stepped over the sleeping forms of his friends and made his way to the pool of nearly black water. "Just one more time."
He kneeled next to the water of the pond and gazed at the circling silver fish. He felt as if he had been there for a long time – or maybe it was only a minute – but he began to hear whispers. They were the softest sounds he had ever heard, but he wanted to hear them more and more. They were more musical than song, more delicate than the tinkling of crystal.
"Brother, brother, dearest brother," a thousand voices echoes in Yugi's mind, "how fortunate we have been, that you have passed into our domain! We entreat you, do not shun us!"
"No, never," Yugi answered aloud. Joey snorted and Yugi resolved to be more silent. "Where do you come from?" he asked them again, this time using the telepathic methods he had used with King Atem.
"We come from the lake before which you stand; yes, always we have abided in the lake," they answered. "Fear not the white-haired wizard, for his strength resides in his brother alone. Separate them and you will have freed this land from the evils it has seen this day and others."
"Yes, I know, but I do not know where to find Ryou," Yugi replied despairingly. "If Bakura has an entire castle, he would have easily detected us before we could get Ryou out."
"There is… a way…" the fish whispered into his mind. "There is… a tunnel…"
"A tunnel!" Yugi exclaimed. "Where is it? Where does it lead to?"
"Patience, young one," they answered. They seemed to laugh. "Bakura disturbed us with his dark magic. His evil knows no bounds. In order to form a route of safe passage from his lair, he invaded our homes and developed a tunnel leading from the depths of the lake to the darkest and lowest basement of his home. There does the crystal elf lay, drained of energy daily by Bakura's unjust envy."
"If we take this tunnel, will Bakura be able to detect us?" Yugi asked.
The fish were silent for a moment. "Bakura sees all things within his castle. Make haste. Seek us tomorrow at the rising of the sun. We shall protect you and your fellows from the depths of the water."
"I don't know how I can repay you," Yugi said sheepishly.
The fish shrieked in his mind; Yugi winced at the unearthly sound. "Free us from this despair, little one, we beg of you," they pleaded. "We feel the darkness in the sky, we feel the mourning in the earth, we feel the tear drops in the water. Save us from the pain, release us from this agony, for the whole earth weeps for what it once was."
"Of-of course!" Yugi stammered, taken aback at their sudden outburst of emotion. "Tomorrow morning, at sunrise, we'll meet you back here."
"Thank you, child… for your mercy…" the fish whispered. And Yugi left them, still spinning, and went to sleep with heavy thoughts on his mind.
"Guys, guys! Come on, we have to get up, now!" Yugi entreated, shaking his friends awake one at a time.
"Whazzamatta?" Joey mumbled, cracking open one eye. "Geez, Yug', it ain't even sunrise yet…" He tried to roll back over, but Yugi wouldn't let him.
"Joey! Get up! We have to go!" Yugi shouted mercilessly in Joey's ear.
Tristan rubbed his eyes. "What's with the Chinese fire drill, man? You in some kind of a hurry?"
"Yeah, trust me, I'll explain everything to you later," Yugi said, and he hurried the three of them to the side of the lake. He bent next to the water and said, "We're ready to go."
"Who are you talkin' to?" Joey asked, looking around. "I don't see anybody."
"Good, good, brother," the fish said to Yugi. "Now come with us; yes, jump into the lake and swim with us. We shall help you swim; we shall help you breathe."
Yugi began to talk off his shoes. "We're going swimming," he said.
Tristan gaped at him. "You woke us up before dawn to go swimming in a freezing lake with a bunch of demented fishes? Did Bobasa's saké go to your head, man?"
"Promise that you'll trust me; I know what I'm doing," Yugi said. He dove into the water and the fish suddenly altered their course. They circled round and round Yugi, as if forming a glowing, protective bubble around him.
"Yugi hasn't led us wrong yet, right guys?" Tea asked. "I think that we should do what he says." And without another word, Tea dove into the water after Yugi. The fish circled around the both of them now.
Tristan turned to Joey. "On three." Joey nodded. "Ready – three!" They jumped in too, and as soon as the fish surrounded them. It was all flashes of silvery white for a while, but at last the two men made out the shapes of Yugi and Tea in the dark waters. They were holding hands.
"Well done, little one," the fish said to Yugi. "Follow us – do not leave our sphere of protection, lest you and your friends perish."
They moved forward at a slow pace, and Yugi diligently followed, kicking his legs as quickly as he could to keep up. He kept a firm hold on Tea's hand, as he had discovered that Tea had no idea of how to swim. He looked back and saw Joey and Tristan tailing them.
Down and down they went, until Yugi could see nothing but the gleaming fish in front of him. He never left their sphere, for he knew that he would be trapped at the bottom of the lake with no guide, no light, and no oxygen.
After traveling on a downward incline for a long time, the fish suddenly veered upward. Yugi knew that they were close to the castle now. Just as he predicted, his head popped above water for the first time in what seemed like ages. He took a deep, long, satisfying breath of real air, though that air stank like ancient dust and mildew.
Yugi pulled himself onto a damp stone floor and helped Tea to her feet. Joey and Tristan came up after them. The fish circled in the small square hole in the floor, glinting brilliantly in their dank surroundings.
"You have done well so far, brother. Send the elf back with us and we will guide him to the surface," the fish said. "Now hurry, release him and escape with us yourselves!"
"Thank you for your help, thank you very much," Yugi said quickly. Tea, Joey, and Tristan peered at him in confusion. "But please, tell me, why do you keep calling me 'brother'?"
"We all share a common bond with those who possess minds and souls, regardless of shape or of power. Brother you are to us, for we share a common bond, you and we, and so shall you be our brother forever – not in blood, not in race, but in heart, where it truly matters."